Photo courtesy of Jarrah Flooring
After hitting on it with all manner of weight and feet, it is only fair that you give your floor a good treat every now and then. Well … even the doormat does require a thorough scrubbing after every so long, no? Who says you have to spend a lot of money? With the timber floor sanding tips in here, you will spend little and do an amazing job. How? You will find out!
Do you have stains on your timber floor?
If you have kids and pets, you definitely know that spillages are unavoidable. It doesn’t matter how disciplined junior is, there will be spillages! Some of them are nasty and will leave long-lasting stains. When sanding your floor, you may need to remove such first. Some stains may have penetrated deep into the wood and edge sanding may not remove them. In this case, try wood formulated bleaches – they are good, really. Read the usage guidelines well before using it.
What will you need for the DIY task at hand?
- Drum/Belt Sander
- Vacuum cleaner for later
- Sheets to cover furniture
- Screwdriver, hammer, nail punch
- Masking tape and sanding block
- A disc sander
- Scraper
Warning – If you have never used sanders before, please ask for directions from the rental crew. That way, you will be safe
Hire sanders for your timber floor sanding project
Drum or edge sander? You need both. You will need to hire a drum sander for sanding the large floor area, and an edger for sanding along the baseboards. It is cheaper to rent them from a flooring specialty. Make sure you have your room measurement for the rental store crew to know how many sanding belts and disks you may need.
Clear the room first
When doing timber floor sanding, a lot of dust will be generated. Remove all the curtains, cover the furniture with polythene, check out for any protruding nails or screws, will you? You do not want to damage the sander. If there are nails sticking out, knock them back in with the nail punch and make sure they sink below the surface. If there are countersink screws, use a screwdriver and drive them in deep.
Change sander belts often
If you overuse a belt, you may do a lot of work for nothing. To ensure that the paper cuts deep into the wood as needed, change the belt when the need arises.
Scrape out corners
After doing the floor sanding, use a paint scraper to reach areas where the sander could not reach.
Clean between grits for excellent sanding results
Before engaging the next grit of sandpaper, vacuum the floor to remove all granules left while sanding. When using the vacuum cleaner, wrap its nozzle with tape to avoid scarring the floor. If it sounds like a bit much to handle, or you need help, call the professional floor sanding team here at Affinity Floors!